Its chair Milan Brglez said this was a "new and important step" towards enshrining the right to water in the Constitution and protecting water resources for future generations.

Brglez, who is also National Assembly speaker, said the procedure to enshrine the right to drinking water in the Constitution could be completed by the end of the year.

The proposal to declare access to safe drinking water a fundamental right and determine that drinking water supply must be a non-profit public service was put forward by a group of 26 MPs with unaffiliated MP Alenka Bratušek as the lead sponsor in April 2015.

The debate at the commission revolved around the provisions concerning the non-profit public service. Questions were raised as to whether municipalities as the owners of a large part of water utilities would keep their role in the managing of water supply.

The initial proposal allowed for the possibility that the state transferred this task on to local communities, but it also allowed it to take over the management of water pipelines.

To appease the municipalities, deputy groups of the coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC), Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), Social Democrats (SD), the opposition United Left (ZL) and the unaffiliated MPs filed an amendment aimed at protecting the existing water supply system.

This was then further amended to exclude the possibility of concessions.

Finally, MPs confirmed the proposal saying that the supply of drinking water and water for households shall be provided by the state through a direct and non-profit service of local communities.

But opposition Democrats (SDS) warned against rushing the changes, wondering how the state would make sure that water was supplied to all parts of the country, how much the implementation of this would cost and where the missing funds would come from.

Similar concerns were raised by the Chamber of Local Public Economy at the GZS. Antun Gašparac pointed to a dilemma of who would own infrastructure and finance the construction of new water pipelines.

The proposal was meanwhile welcomed by civil initiative For Slovenia and Freedom, which said that protecting the right to drinking water in the Constitution was the "duty and responsibility of the elected representatives of the people".

The commission started discussing the latest proposal last week but then took time for consultation before resuming the session today and endorsing the proposal.

The motion will now be put to a vote at the 90-strong National Assembly, where it will need to be backed by a two-thirds majority.

Once the right to drinking water is enshrined in the Constitution, changes to several laws will be required before it can be fully implemented.

The new Article 70 a of the Constitution will state that everyone has the right to drinking water and that water sources are public good managed by the state.

It will moreover state that water sources serve primarily and sustainably to supply people with drinking water and households with water and are in this part not a commodity.

It will also say that the supply of people and households with water is secured by the state through local communities as a non-profit service.